User blog:Pygmy Hippo 2/Byzantine Cataphracts vs. Emishi Horse Archers
Knight vs. Samurai is probably the most famous debate among history fans alongside Pirate vs. Ninja and for good reason, they were both the best warriors of their time with the best equipment and typically cavalry units. However they both had extremely ancient ancestors who were similar to them in appearance but not completely the same which is why we're going to see whether thr prototype for the Western or Eastern cavalry will win a battle. Swords will swing, polearms will stab, arrows will fly, and armor will be tested as these two squads ride in on their mounts to defeat the other. The Byzantine Cataphracts, the Eastern Roman Empire's tanks on horseback that crushed their enemies by rapidly closing the distance! The Emishi Horse Archers, the tribal warriors who matched one of Japan's greatest armies for over 30 years with mobile tactics! Who is Deadliest? Byzantine Cataphracts "...all the companies were clad in iron, and all parts of their bodies were covered with thick plates, so fitted that the stiff-joints conformed with those of their limbs."-Ammianus Marcellinus Short Range:Spathion Sword The Byzantine's straight long sword is 36 nches long, weighs 2.7 pounds, made of iron with a cross-guard, and double-edged to slash and stab. Mid Range:Kontarion Lance The Cataphracts' lance is 7-13 feet long, weighs 5-7 pounds, with a capped point made of iron, and had a chain attached to the horse for enough power to penetrate medieval chainmail. Long Range:Byzantine Composite Bow The Byzantine's bow has a range of 149 meters, weighs 2.5 pounds, made out of horn, sinew, and animal glues to fire iron arrows, and was based off of the powerful Hunnic bows. Armor:Iron Scale Armor The Cataphracts' wore iron scale armor with overlapping rounded plates on their bodies and limbs along with a close-fitting helmet with a mail skirt to protect their head and neck. They also carried the 35 inches in diameter skoutaria domed round shield. Their horses were protected by an iron headpiece and ox-hide lamellar on their chest and neck. Unfortunately this meant that the iron scale armor alone could weigh 88 pounds without the rest of the set included. Emishi Horse Archers "In the Eastern wilds there is a country called Hitakami. The people of this country, both men and women, tie up their hair in the form of a mallet, and tattoo their bodies. They are of fierce temper, and their general name is Yemishi."-Takechi no Sukune Short Range:Tsurugi Sword The Emishi's straight long sword is 43 inches long, weighs 1.3 pounds, made of iron and based on the Jian, and double-edged to slash and stab. Mid Range:Kumayari Throwing Spear The Archers' spear is 5-6 feet long, lightweight, with a long knife-like point made of iron, and could be used for thrusting or throwing to kill wild bears. Long Range:Ebisu Yumi Composite Bow The Emishi's bow has a range of 200 meters, weighs 2 pounds, made out of wood to fire iron arrows, and the arrow tips could possibly be dipped in wolfbane poison. Armor:Keiko Iron Lamellar The Archers' wore keiko iron lamellar that was based off of Korean armor with metal scales for full body protection and a lamellae skirt to protect their lower body and thighs and they wore a mabizashi-tsuki kabuto helmet and shikoro neck-guard to protect their head and neck. They also carried the 27 inches in diameter rectangular wooden Tate shield. Unfortunately their horses had no armor and their limbs lacked protection but it was light enough to walk in to be able to fight as infantry. X-Factors Training:The Byzantine Cataphracts were part of their empire's army and most likely the most important part so they were intensively trained and had drills to prepare for combat. The Emishi Horse Archers served a similar role in their people's army but were mainly hunter-gatherers who hunted animals from horseback to practice their archery skills. Experience:The Byzantine Cataphracts fought for their empire against foes like the Sassanian Empire, Lakhmids, Vandal Kingdom, and Ostrogothic Kingdom with an early pyrrhic defeat against the first two and victory against the others. The Emishi Horse Archers fought against other Emishi tribes frequently and proved too much for the Yamato army at first but were eventually brought down after a 38 year war. Tactics:The Byzantine Cataphracts preferred to fire arrow volleys to soften up their enemies for a lance charge and from there, using melee weapons to cause even more damage to the opposing formation. The Emishi Horse Archers didn't want to close the distance and instead used hit-and-run tactics with their bows from horseback to wear down slower forces. Notes Voting ends on December 31st. Votes need edges or two paragraphs and decent grammar to count. The fight takes place in a German plain with ten men on each side who will all start on a horse. The Battle Wiehen Hills, Germany The Byzantine Cataphracts had been sent to the western Roman Empire to help them defeat a new enemy who had just invaded their lands from the far east, the Yamato army had prevailed against the Emishi Horse Archers and found a use for their former enemies in a new conflict. It was these two events that led to ten men on each side running into each other, one was there as allied soldiers to protect the area and the others were there unwillingly as conscripts who had just gotten away from their tyrannical rulers. The two sides didn't say anything before pulling out bows and firing arrows at each other in an attempt to earn some early kills which saw some success on each side. One Byzantine managed to hit an Emishi in the throat with a composite bow shot before his iron mail skirt was penetrated by an Ebisu Yumi shot giving him the same fate, another arrow hit one of his comrades in the side before the two groups started riding. The soldiers chased after the Warriors with their Kontarion lances out except for one archer who got a lucky shot in the spinal column of a fleeing warrior, only for his fellow to fall over dead from wolfbane poison and another was knocked off his mount by a similar hit to helplessly struggle on the ground in agony. The Cataphracts were getting closer which made the Horse Archers draw their Kumayari throwing spears and toss most of them at their pursuers which wound up bouncing off most of the time or just causing shallow wounds with one actually sinking deep enough in between the iron scales to cause a mortal wound. The Emishi were devastated as the lances made contact, two men being run through outright through the sheer force and toppling backwards with gruesome wounds that went past their iron lamellar before another was unfortunately still alive for a little bit after the impact before a horse stepped on his head. The warriors who barely avoided death began to ready melee weapons except for one who took a shot at a passing soldier with his bow, the Kontarion barely missed his torso but the Yumi hit its mark in his foe's neck. The Horse Archers quickly swung their Tsurugis to destroy as many lances as they could before the Cataphracts could draw their Spathions and the two started duelling on horseback with some utilizing their shields as well. The Byzantine's sword cut through the Tate with ease while the Tsurugi boinced off the Skoutaria and the Emishi then tried to hack at the horse who whined in pain but it didn't give him enough time to react to the Spathion coming for his throat next. The soldier was pleased with his enemy's death but now he he had a wounded horse and turned to get a Kumayari thrusted at his chest which luckily didn't do much damage, however, it also sent him falling off his mount and down a steep hill. Two men were trying to have a meal as a Horse Archers attack sent a Cataphract plummeting down towards them with the impact clearly ruining lunch as 88 pounds of iron and a carcass laid on it. The man in a silk kimono with two swords on his waist and the man in ivory armor with a spear on his back looked at each other before walking away, Miyamoto and the Inuit could meet somewhere else where there wasn't Byzantines and Emishi fighting. Back above, another soldier had stabbed into a warrior's face before a Tsurugi stabbed through his mail skirt to reach his neck and another of his fellows was hit from two sides by a spear and sword which both punched deep into his flesh before the sword's owner was sent flying by a Kontarion lance hit. The Cataphract then knocked the other Horse Archer off his horse with a shield bash and turned around to finish the job as another horse was slain by a lance going right through it's chest. However that Emishi had an easy shot with his Ebisu Yumi as he got up to see the Byzantine struggling to free his polearm from the dead mount, all he got was an arrow that went past his armor and into his face. The other warrior desperately dodged the soldier's charges as he attempted to run him down and got support from his fellow firing upon his opponent. The Horse Archer's shots bounced off the iron scales or missed and the Cataphract was just driven into an even greater fury with the projectiles pelting him and the annoying foot soldier who refused to die. The Byzantine lost his patience and went all in for a Spathion swing which the Emishi didn't just dodge but slashed the horse's neck open with his Tsurugi in response, making the cavalry crash to the ground. The soldier got up in pain with several broken bones and extremely slowly thanks to his heavy armor and only got the warrior's sword puncturing his throat for his troubles and collapsed to a knee. The Emishi Horse Archer watched his foe for a moment before yanking the Tsurugi out and letting the Byzantine Cataphract's body fall before greeting his fellow and walking back over to his horse so that they could continue their escape. Winner:Emishi Horse Archers Expert's Opinion The Byzantine Cataphracts were far better protected and had the devastating Kontarion Lance along with superior training but the Emishi Horse Archers had them beat with better weapons at short and long range with the Tsurugi Sword and Ebisu Yumi Composite Bow. It didn't hurt that the Emishi's tactics directly countered the Byzantine's tactics either and they had comparable experience despite fighting less variety in foes. Category:Blog posts